What is the Printemps des Champagnes?

Five days. Twenty-seven grower associations. Hundreds of Champagnes. Thousands of impressions. Printemps isn’t a festival – it’s a full-blown state of exception. Open only to professionals, and only to those ready to go all in. Between Reims and Épernay, growers open their cellars and pour their wines – from crystal-clear Vins Clairs to matured vintages and experimental cuvées. It’s a sensory obstacle course, a think tank of ideas, and a window into what Champagne is today – and what it could become tomorrow.

The Champagne region: luxury, limestone, and laser focus

No wine region stands so uncompromisingly for quality sparkling wine as Champagne. Up here, in the northernmost tip of French wine country, excellence grows on chalk. The big three – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier – dominate the scene, each with its own stage, every terroir speaking its own language.

And then there’s the luxury aspect: Champagne isn’t just wine. It’s a promise – of precision and emotion, of elegance in a glass. And nowhere does that promise come to life more clearly than with the growers who turn tiny plots into big ideas. Grower Champagne isn’t a trend. It’s a movement.

My experience: deep, honest, challenging

I arrived with expectations. I left with humility. Printemps showed me what Champagne means beyond the big names: transparency. Identity. Courage. I tasted over 500 wines – from razor-sharp Vins Clairs and bone-dry Brut Nature to expressive vintage champagnes.

And yes, I learned a lot. That I’m far from being an expert, for one. But also: that taste is something you earn. That Pinot Meunier is seriously underrated. And that a Blanc de Blancs from Avize can sing so clearly on chalk, it leaves you dizzy.

You can read about my highlights and most exciting new discoveries here.

Climate X Champagne: no filters, just facts

One of the most intense moments was the “Climate X Champagne” masterclass hosted by Terres et Vins. No clichés, no show – just honest dialogue. Climate change is not some looming threat. It’s already here. Most Champagne growers aren’t responding with dogma – but with adaptation. Precision in harvest timing. Lower yields. Rethinking cellar practices.

We went deep: canopy management, soil revitalization, selective picking, new pressing techniques, the composition of press fractions – and more. Nerdy, yes. But eye-opening and wildly engaging.

The tasting that followed said more than words could. 2003: warm, rich, but flat. 2013, 2018, 2022: focused, powerful, alive. If you listen – and taste – it’s clear: Champagne stands at a crossroads. But most are ready to take the path ahead. Not loudly. Not dramatically. But with quiet determination and depth.

Vintage 2024: complicated but full of promise

If there’s one word to sum up the 2024 vintage, it’s “complicated.” Almost every producer said it was one of the toughest years in recent decades. Constant rain, hail, mildew, frost – the whole nightmare. Many lost more than half their crop. And yet: somehow, this tricky year gave birth to wines with depth, freshness, and real character. Small yields, big tension.

What I took home The base wines are showing clear fruit, precise acidity, and serious aging potential. The challenge will be to shape that potential wisely in the cellar.

What I took home

A notebook so full it barely closes. A head full of questions. A heart full of connections. Printemps, above all, was human. I met smart, passionate people. People with vision, with values, with taste. Growers who don’t just fill bottles – they tell stories. In the glass, in conversation, in the way they approach their craft.

Champagne isn’t a hype – it’s a mindset

Printemps isn’t something you tick off. It’s a school. And a mirror. If you’re paying attention, you quickly understand: Champagne is no longer (just) about prestige. It’s about precision. Origin. Ideas. And the willingness to evolve without losing your soul.

I came back with deep respect – and the sense that Champagne has never been more exciting.
And that I’m only just getting started. Which, honestly, feels just right.